ways. >> clayton: viewers were writing this morning, i think volkswagen got rid of e-mail internally, no more e-mail allowed. e-ma e-mail, one person wrote, switched windows 37 times between the different windows when you are on these things, back and forth and back and forth. >> dave: bill and martha, next from charlotte, north carolina. >> good morning and welcome to charlotte, north carolina. home of the 2012 democratic national convention. >> martha: this week the democrats kick off their big bash, america's newsroom, live from charlotte, starts, right now. now. ♪ captioning by, closed captioning services, inc. >> 10:00 in charlotte and president obama and mitt romney chasing each other in key battleground states and governor romney holding rallies in cincinnati and florida, yesterday, where he wants to capitalize on the momentum after his party's convention in tampa. we have moved up the road, haven't we?

good morning, everybody, welcome to charlotte, north carolina. this will be our home for the next week, i'm bill hemmer, how are you doing, martha. >> martha: good, we are getting settled in, i'm martha mccallum. good morning, everybody, governor romney speaking to big crowds and tapped the president as a failed coach of a struggling team. here's how he said that: >> the president's answer to times like this is -- he said play golf, that is true... but... [laughter]. >> his political answer is, to say, look, let's divide america. let's have americans attack one another, let's be divisive and dismissive and dericive and that is not the right course, i need to ask each one of you, to find one person who voted for barack obama last time. they are out there. you can usually tell where they are, because on their cars, you see the glue from where the bumper sticker used to be, all right? and, so you can find them and, you need to go to those guys and

each one of you needs to find one person who voted for barack obama and convince him to vote for paul ryan and mitt romney. >> that was the message in florida, democrats hoping to recap pukacapture the magic of this week's convention -- 2008 at this week's convention, can they convince people to give barack obama another four years, ed henry with the president today in boulder, colorado, a battle ground state on his way to charlotte later this week where he'll speak on thursday, sounds like we are getting a preview out there. what is he saying in good morning to you, ed. >> reporter: good morning, bill. we really are and it is the same theme this president has been hitting for months. the short of tax fairness theme and republicans call it class warfare and he says it is about making sure everyone has a fair shot, that this is a make or break moment for the middle class and he is casting himself as a person who is standing up for the middle class and that is what thursday night's speech in charlotte will be all about and we got a sampling of it yesterday in iowa where the president, who has said the last few days that he has not been

watching what was happening in tampa, at the republican national convention, nonetheless, seemed like someone who was well briefed on what was said and he took shots at romney and said he had old ideas, so old the president said on the stump you could have watched it with a black and white t.v. take a listen. >> president barack obama: when governor romney had a chance to let you in on his secret sauce... he didn't offer you a single new idea. it was just a retread of the same old policies that have been sticking it to the middle class for years. [applause]. >> president barack obama: you heard him talk a lot about me. you heard him talk a lot about mitt. and, he didn't talk a lot about you. >> reporter: that's the president's side and you heard mitt romney a moment ago making it clear he thinks the president had his chance for four years and jumped on sort of the kick

off of the college football season yesterday by saying that if you had a coach who lost so many games you would have fired him by now and brought in the a new one and clearly romney wants to be the one to be calling the plays come next year and is sending out what might be, i guess, the half back in paul ryan, the vice presidential nominee, who will be pushing back on what the democrats will be saying and joe biden, was going to tampa and it was called off because of the storm. and, paul ryan going to one of those battleground states. >> iowa is on the map and colorado on the map, 15 electoral votes, between those two states and, the strategy there is? >> reporter: this is the third time i have been with him in colorado, and third time i was in iowa with him, and a small amount of electoral votes, but,

it is early voting in these states and if the president makes his case, people can actually vote now and influence them, they think and secondly, we looked at the real clear politics average of polls and, states like colorado and iowa are 50-50, too close to call and realize they have to fight for every electoral vote, bill. >> and more on that, with ed rollins in a matter of moments, we'll see you in charlotte, later in the week. >> reporter: good to see you, buddy. >> all right. >> martha: and, weather was a huge issue at the republican national convention after hurricane isaac delayed the start of the whole thing by one day and, now democrats are anxiously watching the skies, here in charlotte. president obama is expected to deliver the convention speech from an outdoor stadium that seats 73,000 people on thursday. but, already pials are reportedly working on a contingency plan and look at the weather reports, this morning, it looks like storms are a possibility. for thursday. so, we'll keep you posted on that and have no word on what that contingency plan might be.

>> some rolled through late yesterday afternoon, too, meanwhile, crews are working overtime, to prep the time warner arena in charlotte. where we are at the moment. tens of thousands of politicians and delegates and journalists, they will turn out and look what they've done to where the bobcats once played from the nba the time lapse photography, you can see the amount of work that goes into this, over the past several weeks, the arena's floor and stage at one end and still a bit of a work in progress, but, i would say they are about 90% of the way there. >> martha: remarkable. >> on a sunday, 48 hours away and you get this, from what once was an arena that looked nothing like that. >> martha: it is incredible how much work goes into it and how they transform these places so completely and now have taken everything down, in tampa and are moving on, but, charlotte is ready for this and, really a nice city. >> sure is, yes. >> martha: really nice, let me tell you about it. the second largest financial center in the nation behind only new york city in that regard and the home to bank of america, they have a huge skyscraper in

the middle of the city and, other fortune 500 companies call this their home including duke energy and lowe's, the home improvement store, unfortunately, it also means that charlotte was hit very hard during the banking melt down, and thousands of people lost their jobs. well-paying industry jobs, here in the city. and, the uptown area in particular, the area's unemployment held at 10% in july, a little lower than that, it looks in the latest read and national unemployment rate at 8.3% and folks here are a little worse off than the national average and that has raised questions about why the democrats chose this particular spot for their convention and we'll talk about that, a little later, and the hammering, going on right behind us as they put the finishing touches on it. >> right. fox news channel is the place for complete coverage of the democratic national convention, all the action out of charlotte. this week on the air and our web site at fox news.com and we mentioned charlotte and here's the headline in the observer." convention city" and that it is,

for this week as we move out of tampa. on we go, huh? >> martha: all right, president obama heading to louisiana, tomorrow to get a first hand look at the damage from hurricane isaac. some areas, obviously had a harder time than others in terms of bouncing back from the storm, more than 400,000 people are without electricity. severe flooding is preventing thousands of people from returning to their homes. casey steegel has been live on the scene throughout the storm and hurricane and is in new orleans. how does it look there? >> reporter: martha, good morning to you, from the big easy, where things are picking back up, of course, we are in the middle of a holiday weekend, and, a lot of people are walking around the french quarter and is hard to believe a category-1 hurricane blew through here several days ago but as we have reported most of the week a lot of the damage has not been in new orleans itself, but the out lying, lower-lying areas,

laffit, slidell, manderville, north of lake ponchartrain and braithwaite was hit especially hardment you can see the video, our photographer, producer went out, by boat, yesterday, in braithwaite which is in placquemines parish, by the way, and you could see you all of the water, suggest 17 feet of water, inundated that community. water levels all the way up to second-story windows. and overtopping situation of a levee there. now, one of the -- not one of the federally built levees, but an earthen, community-built levee and when the storm was hitting, water spilling over, inundating the town with water and listen to what one man had to say, who gave us a ride on one of the boats yesterday. listen: >> they had storm winds, 80 miles an hour, so, there was really no rest to try and get down here and rescue people. >> reporter: now, a lot of the water has gone down there in the community of braithwaite because what they did is intentionally

breached a part of the leavee there and punched holes in it, think of a cereal bowl holding water and they punch the holes and the water is able to drain back out into the mississippi river and braithwaite only 20 miles up the mighty miss from where we are now and the water levels are finally going down there, martha. >> martha: boy, casey, your heart goes out to those people, water up to the first floor of their homes. >> reporter: yes. >> martha: and it is a horrific mess to work through, casey, thank you very much. talk to you later. >> we wondered about the damage and initial estimates out on how much damage isaac caused, the cost between 1.5 and $2 billion in insured losses, compared to hurricane katrina's $41 billion price tag. mississip mississippi, louisiana, alabama the three states affected. placquemines parish, appears to have sustained the worst flooding, in the low, low point

of louisiana, 15, 20 feet at point, below sea level and they took a lot of pounding, just last week. >> martha: sure did. that is the convention front here, after three nights of speeches touting governor romney's character and business values an argument to become president, the question is did the r.n.c. convention do enough to win over the undecided voters. >> and republicans took the high road last week at their convention, rarely mentioning president obama by name in primetime and making their case for governor romney and gong man ryan. bill democrats do the same in former governor and vice presidential candidate, sarah palin, is here today to talk about that and she'll weigh in. >> martha: and democrats facing a tough re-election night as the president and his advisors are faced with one looming question: are americans better off than they were four years ago? chris wallace with that question, to david axelrod, here's what he says. >> he spoke for 45 minutes and never really offered any, any real ideas, for how to move the

economy forward, for how to lift the middle class, and, in that sense i think his convention was a terrible failure. ♪ [ male announcer ] extreme environments can cause a spontaneous change in dna, resulting in unexpected power and agility. introducing the all-new, all-powerful gator rsx 850i. sixty-two horsepower, a fully independent multilink suspension

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>> martha let's get you news outside of the political scene, a freight train derailment making a big mess in chicago. the csx rail spokesperson said

one freight train slammed into the back of another early this morning and several cars jumped the rails, damaging a third train on an adjacent track. what a mess! look at that! a twist of metal... in chicago and it briefly knocked out power to more than 2500 people, nobody was injured, thankfully. the cause of the train collision is noundz investigation. -- is now under investigation. ♪ >> bill: so as democrats get ready for their convention in charlotte they are hoping for a bounce in the critical swing state of north carolina. a real clear politics national average of polls shows governor romney leading the president in the state at the moment, 46.5 for romney, 45.8 for president obama. president obama won the state in 2008, which was a shocker, by the way, too, turning it from red to blue but just by a smidge. ed rollins, fox news contributor and national director for the reagan election team in 1984 and also had major roles in nine other presidential campaigns, ed, good morning to you.

>> good morning, how are you. >> bill: i'm doing fine. how do you see north carolina breaking knowing the polls of this type and unemployment across the state, near 9%. >> north carolina is an extraordinary state and we've always done well and we lost it by less than 1% last time, a very close election and now are favored to win that state. i think after 3-4 days of san francisco democrats being featured at the democratic convention, it is almost all california they are focusing on, it is going to basically make the conservatives in north carolina get revved up and i think we'll win that state. >> bill: do you think that conventions make a big deal in the end, based on location? in other words, democrats, they held it here for a reason, because the state was won by president obama by .035 percentage points, which is as close as it gets. >> i think in their arrogance, two years ago, they thought they could make real inroads in the south. and they won virginia last time and won north carolina.

and, florida. obviously, those three states are critical to the -- any victory, either side. and we think we can win all three of those and win those three states plus ohio and, wisconsin and, missouri, which we won last time and we have over 270 electoral votes and they've got to basically take something out of the mix and take north carolina, florida, ohio, out of the mix and it is hard to get to 270 but i think, we are well positioned at this point. >> bill: this is a battle ground state and a lot of folks before 2008 would not consider it that way. look at the other battleground states now and look how close the polling numbers are. this is iowa, obama, 45, romney, 44.8. colorado, obama, 47.6, romney, 46. ohio, obama, 46.6, romney, 45.2. virginia, obama, 47.3, romney, 46.7. they are all within the margin of error, ed? >> every, single one of these states is competitive and every,

single one of those states are winnable for romney. he has to win them all, obviously, but, at the end of the day, what traditionally happens, the president's numbers, incumbent's number is pretty much what he gets and i expect the president to get around the 46, 47 showing up there, which gives us the opportunity to go over that number, and win those states. >> bill: let's talk about a bump, off the convention, now, it can be debated many different ways over time, as to whether or not there is a significant bump and whether it matters or not and whether or not the convention, so closely timed with -- conventions closely timed with one another cancel each other out. rasmussen says romney got a 5-point bump off the convention, now up 3 in the snapshot, 47-44 and that is a three-day rolling average which means all the polling since tampa is not complete. three points, does it stay that way? or, does what happens this week in charlotte, cancel that out?

>> it may cancel it out, but i think the critical thing here, and rasmussen is a great, great pollster. we have momentum and we basically had a solid convention and i think the critical thing is, romney came off as a very dignified, decent human being, strong leader, has had hundreds of millions of dollars spent against him in all of these target states over the summer and is now dead-even with the president in all the battleground states and i think we have momentum, and i think we had a great convention and i think they have a tough time matching it and i expect it to go down to the wire and the president gets back a little of what he lost but i don't think can take anything away from what romney accomplished, which is he's now the leader of the future. >> bill: one question about television viewing, ed and i don't know if you can consider it in 15 seconds i have left, wednesday would be off 17 million viewers from 2008. why would that be? >> of summer, kids going back to school, a variety of things. it is not that there is a lack

of interest. i think a lot of people made up their minds already and, it will intensify, i assume the debates will have big, big audiences, and i just kind of think the timing of it, labor day weekend, last week of summer, it was probably not good timing, and you followed the olympics, that, obviously was a big media event. >> bill: ed, thank you. we'll talk to you during the week. ed roll begiinrollins, thank yo >> martha an interesting look at how close it all is, and we'll look at where they put the ohio delegation in the hall behind us, does the all important buckeye state have even a view of the stage? we'll show you! >> bill: preps underway in charlotte. we'll look back at memorable moments from past democratic conventions, of which there are many, like this one. ♪ this is $100,000.

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>> martha coming stou -- to you live from our new location in charlotte, north carolina. plenty of big names are set to take the stage at the democratic national convention, cory booker, former president jimmy carter will appear by video in the early part of one of the days and san antonio's mayor, julian castro is on the speakers' list and a big night will be had, by former bill clinton and former chief of staff, rahm emmanuel and, eva longoria will be one of the big celebrity names we'll see on the big stage in the coming nights

and back there now, is bill. >> bill: martha, we have found the state of ohio, 18 electoral votes, you know how important the buckeye state is and based on tampa and our time down there. if you live in a battle ground state and are a delegatee get a good seat at these conventions, the battleground states surround the stage and here's the stage, pennsylvania to the left and i see nevada, north carolina, the host state, virginia, colorado, michigan, and they are all here and these delegates, get the best view of the house, and, the staging is different from tampa. the floor is smaller based on our early observation here than it was in tampa and wisconsin is up over my letter hand shoulder and here's a look at the stage, similar to what the republicans did, a lot of video screens, you see behind me and that is, multi-media and you see a lot of different images and you can bring in live guests, too, if you want to put their face or talk to them up on the screen behind us and here's the main stage and the main podium, viewers will see on tuesday night, wednesday night, before

we move out to the bank of stadium, the outdoor stadium and normally this is where the nba bobcats play, this is their home but, for now, the democrats will make it their home, at least for this week and tuesday night, the big night for michelle obama and ohio's decent, you know, up on the float over there, as you saw, the president will be there tomorrow and martha, this is where we are today. >> martha and, not a basketball net in sight, at the moment. >> bill: right. >> martha thank you, bill. what a sight that is. it gets underway and there are some tightening polls out there, we are looking at this morning, as we get new numbers in and that will force president obama to ramp it up on the campaign trail and he said it is something he absolutely wants to do. some of what is out there includes new attacks, against his rival, mitt romney, but, is the president spending too much time talking about governor romney and not enough talking about his own record? that is the big question. >> you say i keep talking about mitt romney, i keep talking about mitt romney, because, all mitt romney does is talk about

barack obama, and, this election is a choice. where you will hear this week, in charlotte, the president will present a clear agenda for the future, that talks about how we build a sound economy, and lift the middle class in this country.

>> martha nearly four years ago, president barack obama rolled into the white house, riding a wave of hope and change, that was a big theme, for his election. now, it is four years later, and, appears he is having to work a lot harder to get reelected. this time around. tightening polls show the nation is very split right now, over who the best candidate is to turn this economy around, here's president obama's senior campaign strategist, david axelrod, in an exclusive interview, on fox news sunday,

he was asked whether americans are better off now than they were four years ago. >> we're in a better position than we were four years ago in our economy in the sense that when this president took office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. the quarter before he took office was the worst water that this country has had economically since the great depression and we are in a different place, 29 straight months of job growth, 4.5 million, private sector jobs, are we where we need to be? no, but the problem with what governor romney said is, for three days, they never offered anybody a plausible alternative. >> martha i'm joined by brit hume, and, chris wallace, the anchor of fox news sunday, good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning, martha. >> martha chris, interesting interview with david axelrod and he was defensive and you laid out a lot of the numbers on unemployment and gas prices and median income. what do you think of his responses?

>> well, i think he did the best he could do with it. the fact is the obama record is not good, by any measurable standard. let's take the most obvious one, unemployment 8.3%. there has not been a president reelected with unemployment that high since fdr in the 1930s, the highest a president has been reelected, since then, is ronald reagan in 1984, at 7.2%, and at 8.3%, you are in a completely different magnitude of order. so, you know, they've got to make two arguments. they have to say, look, we're on the right track, we aren't where we want, to but we are a heck of a lot better than when we took office and, two, look at the other guy and you will hear a lot of "look at the other guy." >> martha brit in the interview, this morning, with david axelrod we definitely got a preview, i think of what we'll hear a lot of, and that is that mitt romney did not lay out, in their opinion, a comprehensive plan for exactly how he would fix these problems, clearly, that is going to be a theme here?

>> well, he did -- mitt romney laid out -- mentioned the highlights of his plan for taxes and the budget and so on. and, you know, lighter regulation and all of that and mentioned it, you know, at least some, he does have a plan, i think the vulnerability with romney, that the obama people will highlight this week, and we'll hear it from bill clinton and we hear it in the ads he has done already, which is these policies the republicans are advocating are the same policies, they argue, that got us into this fiscal mess, fiscal and economic mess in the first place and i think the argument has some power and, i don't think the republicans did a good job of countering the argument and i don't think the convention did a particularly good job of countering that point, either. >> martha: the "wall street journal" makes the argument, the

obama administration is concerned that they are worried and the president reflected and thought about a lot of things he'd like to do differently in the second term, including more outreach, on capitol hill, and, more outreach and bringing his message to the people of the united states. what did you think about it? about that story? i found it very interesting. >> well, i thought it was interesting, and i think some of it, certainly, is true. he'd be silly not to be worried, according to the polls, it is all within the margin of error, this election with just over nine weeks left is absolutely up for grabs. he'd be naive and he's far from that, not to be worried but i also think there is a certain amount of spin in that article and obviously it helps, with their voters. if they say, the big guy is worried and the big guy wants to campaign harder and wants even longer days, then that is saying to his supporters, you have to get out there and work even harder for this guy, because this is a real fight and as far as the argument about, well, he'll be more of a compromiser

in a second term, again, he's got to say things will be better than they were, obviously, there has been total gridlock for the last two years and i don't see any signs of it and i suppose if there were a sweeping election for barack obama, and he gets a real mandate, maybe, perhaps, you will see republicans rethink their agenda, but, assuming, let's say, he does win, but it is a close election, and, even if the republicans take the senate, rather, even if the democrats hold on to the senate, the republicans will have a filibuster-proof -- pill buffer ability, you know, i think you will see a lot more deadlock, so i don't see a lot of opportunity for major bipartisan compromise, and, i saw one quote, in an interview in ""time"" where the president talked about, yes, we'll compromise it a second term and the next sentence, he said if we don't i'll find other ways to go around congress with executive orders. >> martha, i have to tell you, reading that article, i was struck by how nonsensical a lot

of it was. the idea the president seems to have that he didn't speak to the nation enough, that he didn't really provide the proper context to people, he spoke particularly on health care, which he made by far his number one priority, endlessly. this is not a president who has lacked for speeches. he was out there all the time, and, when you think about it, if he made a mistake, not talking enough wasn't it. if he made a mistake in this, it was, once he got the stimulus rammed through congress, which turned out to be a laundry list of pet democratic projects, he abandoned, basically, any economic initiatives, for the next year-and-a-half so he could ram through this historic health care reform, which was while polls would show people wanted health care reform, it was very low on people's priority lists and i think it was a grave miscalculation and i think it is what led to the midterm defeat of his party, in such large numbers, and, it is a mistake that seems, to this day,

unacknowledged by team obama, and they think the mistake was something else, and they need to learn from mistake and the first thing they need to do is figure out that it was a mistake. >> martha i'm struck by the contrast you see in the bill clinton presidency and the barack obama presidency in terms of how they deal with people, bill clinton loves the political process and loves to bring everybody in and talk about it and argue, and, it is this president -- not just this article but we've heard it other places as well, is one that doesn't necessarily like to mix it up with folks on the hill, for example, is one part of it. >> well i think that is part of it, martha and i think the other thing is the political decision made. i mean, they both won sweeping victories and both came in and both got hung up on health care and both suffered sweeping defeats in the first midterm. and the difference is, that bill clinton made a major course correction, and said in a speech, state of the union speech, the era of big government is over, had to deal

with a republican house for the first time in 50 years. and, worked on a balanced budget and welfare reform, moved hard to the center. you haven't seen any of that since the republicans took over the house, with barack obama, he, in fact, doubled down on a policy of moving further to the left, and,ing ing arguing much terms of us versus them. >> martha that is a great point and everyone wondered what would happen -- one moment that would have shown a course correction was the grand bargain with john boehner and whether or not they were able to strike the deal, it might have been a whole different turning point if they walked out of the room with a deal. we might have seen a different second half of the first term, gentlemen, thanks, always a pleasure to talk to you, chris wallace, we'll see you later and, brit hume, thanks to you as well. >> you bet. >> martha: catch the rest of chris's exclusive interview with co obama campaign senior strategist david axelrod on fox news sunday along with democratic national convention chairman, los angeles mayor antonio della rosa.

>> bill: really interesting stuff there, fascinating as we move on here in charlotte. at the republican convention, we rarely heard the name, barack obama, mentioned in the key primetime hour by name. can we expect democrats to embrace a similar approach against governor romney, former alaska governor sarah palin is live with us as we roll on live here in the tarheel state. at usaa, we believe honor is not exclusive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath.

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the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. >> martha: well, the campaign trail is not just here in charlotte, of course it is on-line and all over the place, these days, both campaigns have taken to twitter, to facebook, and, google chat, to try to sway those undecided voters that like to stay home in front of their

laptops and use their phones and connect in that way and the democrats have been considered leaders in social media, and governor romney's campaign claims they are catching up. launching their own effort on twitter, at last week's r.n.c., however, a pew research study finds the barack obama campaign is still active on nearly twice as many digital tools as republicans and they get more responses from users on average. bill and i are not behind the 8 ball in this regard at all. we have our own handles, @martha mccallum and, @bill hemmer. and, we look forward to talking with you, throughout the -- >> arguably we are behind the 8 ball in other things and social media would not be it. >> martha: we are good there. >> bill: at the republican national convention we didn't hear president obama mentioned by name during the high-profile primetime hour at 10 o'clock in the evening. can we expect democrats to do the same? fox news contributor and former vice presidential candidate,

governor sarah palin with me on the phone. from back home in this state of alaska. governor, good morning to you and welcome here on a sunday. >> caller: good morning, bill. how are you? >> bill: i'm doing fine. thank you for your time. what is the possible tone that you expect from democrats this week? >> caller: well, it is got to be pretty fascinating, fascinating to hear what the wordsmiths' explanation will be about an incumbe incumbent's agenda that resulted in a worse economy and a weaker position on the world stage than when the incumbent, president obama had taken over, four years ago. it will be interesting to hear what that tone will be, if you notice that the r.n.c. convention, i believe there was an attempt there for a respectful tone, and attempt to not necessarily personalize any of this and that is why, perhaps you didn't hear barack obama's name mentioned over and over again, because, i think, you know, republicans and independent americans are

realizing, no theede to personalize this, it just didn't work out, did it and the numbers prove that it just didn't work out with this administration. time to change. >> bill: many republicans in tampa told us that they were taking the high road. do you expect democrats to take the high road? >> caller: well, consider who the speakers are. rahm emmanuel, not known for civility or tolerance or positive discourse. debbie wasserman schultz, i think, the same could be said, kathleen sebelius, not known for truthfully telling us what was in obamacare. her pet project, and, barney frank, another speaker not known for really being honest, either, as he has insisted, fannie mae and freddie mac were doing fine and, the spokespersons for the democrats' agenda, that will be on stand, and, unless they are really able to change their stripes quickly have not been

known over the years for being one to engage in real civil discourse. that will be interesting. >> bill: we just heard chris wallace talk to martha a moment ago. and he talked to david axelrod for his fox news sunday show and made it quite clear mitt romney will be the main target here in charlotte. now i hadn't heard you comment since mitt romney made his speech on thursday night, and we heard the president yesterday say it was a rerun of ideas and, you could watch it on black-and-white t.v. suggesting the ideas were old and there was nothing new in there. what did you think of mitt romney's presentation thursday night? >> caller: well, i was pleased that he not only represents but he was able to articulate a completely different vision than what barack obama has cast for america. you know, what obama has represented is just this -- being adamant that the answer to

the economic woes we're facing in america and the position we have in the world stage is, grow more government, incur more debt and the solution isn't empowering the individual, and letting the private sector grow. now that is opposed to mitt romney's vision and the republicans, and, most independent americans' vision for america, where, you know, we know that america has grown into an exceptional nation based on free market and work ethic and the entrepreneurial spirit, is what built us and it is not in big, inefficient government control and that is what the left represent. >> bill: now, we letteredheard about success and private business in tampa at the republican convention, and unemployment nationally above 8% and, just to pick up on your first answer, there, it will be interesting to hear and see what message sells here in charlotte throughout the week leading up to the big night on thursday night. governor, thank you, appreciate your thoughts there out of alaska this morning, sarah palin, up early with us today.

have a terrific day. and a labor day weekend, thank you, governor, you got it. martha? >> martha: they are literally building the convention behind us this morning, it is exciting to be here as we get things underway, we'll have that in a moment and there is another big story out there, this weekend, thousands in the gulf are still struggling without power. look at this family's home. that breaks your heart. coming up we'll be live with the director of homeland security in new orleans, is there and when will things get back to normal? that is the big question for those poor folks. >> if you live on the river, you are basically living in the river. >> we are trying to get back in and salvage whatever we can. >> we're in the process of moving, so... >> now... >> now we're in the process of rebuilding. if you have copd like i do,

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>> martha: a massive recovery effort is underway in new orleans after hurricane isaac, thousands of evacuees cannot return to their flooded homes and patience is wearing thin, more than 400,000 people in louisiana still do not have any power, in their homes, and boy it is easy to see why when you look at some of these pictures, joining me on the phone, lieutenant colonel jerry snead, the deputy mayor of public safety for the office of homeland security in new orleans. thank you so much for being with us this morning, sir, welcome. >> caller: thank for having me. >> martha: tell me about what the hardest-hit areas are and we

are looking at incredible video on the screen, right now, poor people, many of them, water up to the second floor of their homes. >> caller: yes. the city of new orleans is not in that bad of a situation at all, the levee system that protects the city did quite well, the only areas we are having problems with are, that has some of the flooding you are seeing is in the area that is outside of our levee system, in the east, the venetian isles, lake katherine area and some of those citizens have the flooding you are talking about, but the majority of the city, we are doing quite well. the levees work, and, now, we are working on cleanup and getting electricity back and, we still have 65,000 of our citizens without electricity. >> martha: that is good news for the city, but, boy, it is bad news for these folks in the outlying areas. we are just showing pictures, while you are talking to us, lieutenant, of people trapped on their rooftops, being rescued off of them. and, literally, i don't know how

these houses -- some of them ever recover from this. >> caller: exactly. you know, the city of new orleans had some of those same things with katrina, seven years after katrina we have areas that are still fighting to recover, so it is, it is very, very difficult and it is a long haul. and, our heart goes out for those parishes, around us, that got hit, much harder than we did. again, we feel very, very good that we had the levee system that worked, this time. but, we know what those individuals are going through, and it is a long, long process, but, you know, the citizens of louisiana are very resilient and they'll fight through this just like the city of new orleans did and everybody will come back, better for it, we hope. >> martha: very strong communities and people helping each other out, which they are really going to need now. what is this update on the electricity? that is step one, get your power back and start to put some of it back together. >> caller: exactly. i think when you lose power you

understand how reliant -- how much we rely on it and how good these air conditioners are. like i said, the city of new orleans, 65,000 still without electricity, but our energy crews are out there, they are working hard, and, again, what you said earlier, it is the area, the whole region, everybody is in this together and crews are everywhere, and, new orleans may be better than others, but, everybody is fighting to get things backer and, again, we will. everything will be back to relative normal, as quickly as possible. >> martha: are people -- i mean, we all remember, of course the legacy of hurricane katrina. so, are people getting the help they need? are they getting the supplies they need? >> caller: the one thing that we have seen, is fema has been very, very leaning forward on this. there was water, mres, ice, tarps rolling there and there

was a hiccup, getting some of it out quickly, and most of that is corrected and i can't say fema wasn't pushing stuff to the affected areas as quickly as possible, so i think katrina woke the nation up and things are much better, the federal government, i think, pushes things to all of us, much quicker now. >> martha: well, are thoughts are with all of those folks, lieutenant colonel jerry snead, thanks, best of luck to you and everybody out there. >> bill: remarkable twist of fate to see the storm literally stall over the city, too. fallout, immigration and customs enforcement, the agency's chief of staff resigning after allegations of lewd behavior. what happened here? a live report on that, today. >> martha: and the hammering continues all around us, as they are putting the finishing touches on the democratic national convention in charlotte. this is governor romney out there on the campaign trail, he's in full swing with his convention behind him. americans, he believes, is telling folks, time for the

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>> martha: a bombshell resignation as president o is ry another scandal. there she is -- the i.c.e. chief of staff, secretary janet napolitano, suzanne barr will step down, after allegations of lewd comments that she reportedly made to at least 3 male employees. good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. we are live in tampa last week, charlotte now because the democrats gett round at the democratic national convention.

barr's resignation comes weeks after she was accused of promoting a quote, frat house-style work environment. she is blasting the allegations as an attempt to ruin her reputation. >> martha: but she has decided to step down. we go to peter doocy, live in washington. >> reporter: suzanne barr made news for allegedly telling a colleague, he was a sexy expletive. now she is making news again for telling i.c.e. director john morton she's leaving. she wrote that i have been the focus of unfounded allegations designed to destroy my reputation. but of greater concern, hour, is the threat these allegations represent to the reputation of this agency and the men and women who proudly serve their country by advancing i.c.e.'s mission. she says she is stepping down to prevent further distractions from i.c.e.'s critical work. but she doesn't mention the timing of when this letter was

sent, a summer saturday in a holiday weekend, when the eyeballs glued to news sources is minimized. >> martha: has i.c.e. said anything? >> reporter: yes, they passed along a kind, but short statement. director morton has received miss barr's resignation. we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. the chairman of the house homeland security committee was more detailed with his reaction, saying... >> reporter: suzanne barr wrote she hopes her resignation will let the men and women who risk their lives for i.c.e. folk focus on that which is most

important. we have to wait and see if that will be the case. >> martha: peter, thank you so much. >> bill: now to the race for the white house, vice-presidential candidate paul ryan will be heading to greenville, north carolina, tomorrow. that visit comes just a day before the democratic national convention kicks off here in charlotte, as you see. a live look at the stage behind us. senior white house gasheddent is here in charlotte. wendall, good morning. >> reporter: bill, good morning n. charlotte, democrats will be trying to rally the faithful, 6,000 of them, in a convention that will be twice as large as the republican gathering in tampa. but they want to accepted a message to the left partisan voters who will decide the fall election. they think that republicans were preaching to the choir in their gathering, which is one reason the president's chief campaign adviser told chris wallace a

short while ago, he doesn't think mitt romney got much of a bounce out of the republican gathering. >> i haven't seen the numbers this morning. but throughout the week, i saw absolutely no movement. people were looking for answers and slewings. what they got were ?arky attacks and so i think people walked away, unsatisfied from that convention. i think the race is exactly where it was before they walked in. now it's our turn. >> reporter: the president is working his way here with a series of appearances in battleground states, iowa yesterday and colorado today. and virginia and ojaio. in mid-august, president obama had a five-point fled ohio, but that's a statistic tie since mitt romney's selection of paul ryan as his runningmate. ohio's early voting could be important. romney's campaign says it might be possible to win the white house without ohio, but n.o.w. no republican has done it in

modern history and he wouldn't want to risk it. virginia's also in play. it was once reliably red. part of the reason that the democrats are getting coming to north norg, is because the state is trending toward mitt romney, thanks in part to a jobless rate that is 9.6% and mr. obama's endorsm of gay marriage, banned by north carolina. >> bill: we will be seeing you throughout the wyke. for night 1 and night 2, tuesday and wednesday, inside here at the time warner arena. you will fill this place. 15- to 18,000 people. but the main event is the outdoor football stadium with 50- or 60,000 seats. has the obama team said whether they expect a full house? >> reporter: it's 74,000

seats. i don't know how many will be usable for the president's appearance there on the final night of the convention. he has not had an appearance before that crowd -- or anything like that size of a dlowd entire year. of course, he had a mammoth crowd in chicago in 2008. and -- but nothing like that during the campaign this year. >> bill: thank you, wendell. whether you like it or not, you are here with us. see you soon. >> martha: we have to get him inside. we'll see him soon. checking out the mikes behind me, as you can tell. we will tell what you we have coming up. the obama campaign promising that there won't be an empty seat in the house when the president accepts his party's nomination. he will speak at the bank of america stadium, hope to the nfl's panthers, holding

initiative 75,000 people. some people have expressed concern that such a large venue -- ooh, look at that t. might be hard to fill n. 2008, barack obama addressed a packed democratic convention crowd in denver's invesco field. they hope to recreate that energy of that night, here in charlotte. can do they do it. >> bill: it will be one of our main storylines here. one person will be in north carolina this week, paul ryan will be here, heading to the key battleground state on monday. yesterday, congressman ryan mixed politics and football in a tailgating party at theostate university,. flipping burgers, posing for pictures before the game. i wonder if he won the toss. miami lost 56-10. >> martha: uh-oh. >> bill: but ryan said they were winning when he was there, but

it was 3-0 when he left. >> martha: there's always next weekend? yes, there is. >> martha: washington scaling down its participation in what was supposed to be the largest ever joint israeli/american military exercise. why is the united states pulling back on this? former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton weighs in. >> bill: strong feelings on that. governor mitt romney make egg negative comment about his own party. why he says republicans let the american people down. what was he saying? we'll tell you. >> martha: and historical context on why national conventions are so important, even today, still. and how they really can either make or break a candidate. >> the convention of the democratic party will now be in order. >> the conventions are an opportunity for the activist in

each party to get together, to drum up a great deal of enthusiasm and then to go out and try to win an election. lap

>> bill: welcome back to this sunday morning, labor day weekend. we are live in charlotte. that's a preview of what we will see wednesday night. president bill clinton will take the stage. the stage is interesting of a lot of video screens. but the floor space is a lot tighter. based on what we can see at the moment here, there is a lot less floor space, which means the delegates will be in the bowl around the arena. >> martha: new jersey's way up in the rafters, i noticed. >> bill: that's just not right. >> martha: it's way, way, way up in the rafters. i have to go see my people? >> the battleground states always get the best seating, just like in tampa. if you are in a battleground state and you are coming to charlotte, you will be happy with your positioning. >> martha: well, i don't know.

i don't know if wisconsin will be too happy. they are behind the stage on the right. more on that in just a while in charlotte. meantime, governor mitt romney turned a magnifying glass on his own party, when he was on the campaign trail in ohio yesterday. he called out republicans for failing to balance the federal budget and he vowed that under his administration, if he get there is, things would be different. >> we are finally going to have to do something that republicans have spoken about for a long time and for a while, we didn't do it. when we had the lead, we let people down. we need to make sure we don't lead them down this time. i will cut the deficit and get us on track to a balanced budget. >> martha: we vey panel to discuss this. we have the democratic party chair for south carolina, just across the border and the chairman of civic foreign pacs

and former director for john mccain for president. ford, mistake or an asset for mitt romney to criticize his own party when it comes to the big deficit that president obama had when he came into the office? >> smart play. he's continuing a narrative he started in tampa. he is starting to say, i am the adult in the race. i want to get things done and i am willing to call strikes on my own party. what he is really doing here, he is targeting undecided voters in the battleground states to make them more comfortable with him. i think it's a smart move. only time will tell how tell play out. >> martha: dick, what do you think about it? >> i think he has had an opportunity to explain what his plan is. apparently, he's in a lock box in switzerland in the cayman with his money. we don't know. he talks about the republicans -- 60 days out, he's begun to criticize republicans. is he for the $1 tax increase

for the wealthiest in $9 in cuts in the obama administration proposal? we don't know. he's very obscure. his speech, he could have laid ought all of this out. but he didn't do t. we had the ramblings of clint eastwood, i am not sure mitt romney was much more coherent. >> martha: well, ford, you know, i mean, when you take a look at it, there is a lot of republicans who were very unhappy with the way that president bush's administration ran up the debt in the country. -- there is a group of conservatives, there is a group of conservative who is have felt that that needed to be the focus all along. does it make mitt romney look like the chief executive the country if he is that role -- if he takes a hard line on it? >> i think it does. i think it makes him look much more statesman like. i think a lot of people are weary about voting for mitt

romney because president obama and dick will say, you are trying to take us backwards to the failed policies of the past. mitt romney is talking about the future and saying this is the republican party with me. we are going to be principled and practical and target the deficit and try to balance the budget. really, we are dealing with a president who has not passed a budget in 3 years. it's time to change. but he is smart because hoe knows he has to take a respectful tone because many undecided voters who voted for obam in 2008 really need to be coaxed into voting for mitt romney, not criticizing him, but sticking to the facts. >> martha: let me ask dick this. i don't know if you saw "the wall street journal" piece that we were speaking about earlier. but it talks about some of the issues that the obama administration feels it had the first time around. one of those was sort of the inability to be politic with capitol hill, to reach out to people, initially he started having republicans over to the white house, once every couple

of weeks, then he abandoned that because he felt it wasn't getting him anywhere. mitt romney is trying to project an image of someone who would reach across the aisle and see both sides to pull that together. >> i think that's more window dressing. if he wants to convince somebody, for instance, if simpson bowles, his vice-president voted against twas on the commission, voted against it, wouldn't let it out of committee, didn't propose it, wouldn't support it -- >> martha: he said that's because it would have -- he said he was against raising taxes part of simpson bowles. >> don't dodge the question. >> i am not -- i am not dodging the question. what i am saying is no economist says that we can balance the budget without some tax or revenue enhancement. mitt romney won't tell what did you say that is. he won't put out specifics. >> martha: actually, he has.

no. let me put this to you. i feel this doesn't get talked about enough. when you eliminate corporate loopholes and individual loopholes as well, you are raising taxes. >> which ones? >> martha: you are doing a different way. >> martha: i know, that's a question. he needs to get more specific about which loopholes he is going on eliminate. >> he does need to get more specific about his plans. but the reason he was more vague fwe will, during the convention, because going into charlotte, if he had been specific, dick, obam woop wrapped him over the head for t. it is important for mitt romney to get more specific in getting the undecided voters over who voted for obama to be comfortable and trust mitt romney going forward. he is saying, hey, this is a new day. i don't want gridlock. i have to work across the aisle. and president obama has shown a willingness, over and over, not to work across the aisle. if the republicans want to make wave it's. >> martha: president obala has

said, in a second administration, he would try to do that more. that does acknowledge he feels that was one of the issues in the first time around. thanks, gentlemen. we will look ford speaking you with more in the course of the week. >> thank you, martha. >> bill: we are in charlotte. why did the democrats choose north carolina? simple question with a simple answer. but other states like ohio could be more critical, especially this year when you are looking at a re-election bid possibility. why the decision? what does it matter? >> up next, an up-close and personal tour of the convention center as the crews are wrapping up their final preparation. we will take a look. we'll be right back.

>> bill: now to the good story. the white house revealing the secret recipes for two custom-made brews. people on twitter asking for the formula. critics have had fun with that notion. republican senator john cornyn tweets, inquiring minds want to know the recipe, prompting one person to respond, any chance we will see a recipe for an economic recovery from the white house any time soon? >> martha: all right. we are down here on the convention floor. we want to show you a little bit

about what it is going on here. bill showed you where ohio is. the delegates are a different configuration than in tampa. you only have a few states here on the floor. take a look at wisconsin. it is clearly a state that is in play with paul ryan having been nominated as vice-president. it is so far up to the right of the stage, they will have a very obstructed view of the stage. hawaii, the president's home state is up front and center. a lot of swing states are on the floor. colorado is on the floor. virginia is behind that. reporters will be stationed down here as well, of course. we will take a look here. that's the teleprompter, which everybody needs for the big speeches. you can see, they are testing that out, making sure it works okay as they get that all up and running here. you can see bill, where we are doing the show from today. he's on the set. it is nice to be down here on the floor. we are getting a close experience to everything being

put together and watching all of that. that's the sky box. you can see the election headquarters, where we will be doing the show from. that's where you will see megyn and bret for the prime-time specials. things are getting the finishing touches on them. but we are excited to be here and we will have a great week here in charlotte, north carolina. >> bill: martha, come on back. >> martha: i am coming back. >> bill: i am waiting. >> martha: i'm on my way. >> bill: the u.s. is dramatically scaling back planned military exercises with israeli forces. the push comes to shove with iran, would the obama administration have israel's back? and how would a romney campaign handle the same matter? and democrats look to create new memory this is week here in charlotte. >> the '64 convention was extremely interesting because a short time before john f.

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>> in has first tv interview as president, he said we should talk to iran. we are still talking and iran's centri fiewns are still spinning. president obama has thrown allies like israel under the bus. >> bill: that got a huge applause line at the convention. now the u.s. reportedly scaling back a joint military exercise with israel. does president obama have his

reels back. with me, ambassador john bolton. i want to get a comment from general dempsey. >> the administration says it simply reflects a scaling back. there is no political intention to it or not. that's want the signal it is sending to israel. even worse, it's not the signal it's sending to iran. this is a moment of grave danger for israel with iran very close to getting nuclear weapons weaph israel faced with incredibly difficult, risky decision, whether to use military force against iran's nuclear weapons program. here, it looks like exactly as governor romney said, with respect to this exercise, they are throwing israel under the bus again. >> bill: to be clear, in a military sense, if we do not have these exercises, how does

it affect israel, if at all? >> well, i think lack of coordination with the united states is something that always puts israel at risk. i read this as a political symbol. but it may mask other steps that are being taken that would make life much more difficult for israel fitz did decide to use military force against iran that. would be consistent with 3 years of obama administration pressure against israel not to use military force. >> bill: general dempsey now. let's get to his comments. when he was asked about whether or not he is in favor or against some sort of israeli attack on behalf of iran's nuclear program. quote, i don't want to be compliceit if they choose to do it. what does that mean to you? >> well, i think it's devastating. i think it really reveals what is going on inside the administration. i don't mean to turn this into an english lesson, but complice scpits accomplies -- accomplice

have the same derivation. so that's a hard way to talk about a potential ally's use of force to protect itself. if the administration thinks that israel attacking it iran is a criminal act, that's pretty dangerous. i would like to think that the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff knows the meaning of the words he uses. if he didn't mean to imply criminal curkts he needs to correct that. >> bill: to continue the english lesson, if you say that publicly, clearly, you are sending a message. >> absolutely. no. absolutely. that's why the way the administration has gone about trying to separate itself from israel, underlines how, at least under president obama, how alone israel is in the face of the iranian nuclear weapons threat.

sorry -- [overlapping dialogue] >> bill: i am sorry. my apol jees. but when you look at the comments that dempsey made, he talked about economic sanctions working. now, is there evidence that the sanctions are working against their ability to enact trade in and out of iran, but having what effect on a nuclear program, that we can tell? >> well, i don't think they are having any effect on the nuclear weapons program. i think iran pointed that out in the recent summit, where 120 countries essentially endorsed iran's nuclear weapons program. it was a big victory for iran, not only being elected president. we have seen last week, a report by the international atomic energy agency that shows continued growth for iran's program across a broad front. i think the sanctions are having a negative economic impact on iran, but only at the margin. and each day, iran is learning

to mitigate its effect, evade them, get around them, both financially and with respect to oil. so that the sanctions actually, the effect of the sanctions will be reduced over time. >> bill: one more point, oftentimes, it is loord is immune to the sanks because they have access to resources, we saw in iraq in the days of saddam hussein. but hypotheticalally, with a second president obam term, there are those, especially on the israeli side who believe that that administration, the next administration, if it is headed up by the current commander in chief, would take a harsher line dpeans the israelis to dissuade them from taking out the iran nuclear program. do you agree with that argument? >> i think that's likely. i take it as a piece of evidence, the famous open microphone conversation between president obama and then russian president medvedev.

saying, once i'm free, i can return to my natural inclinations. and the hostility of the obama administration's policy toward israel, generally, but particularly on iran, i think would increase in a second obama term. that would leave israel even more alone, as it faces the existential threat of iran potentially with nuclear weapons. >> bill: it was clear where the delegates for the republicans in tampa stood. when he delivered that line, it was only one line in a 30-minute speech, but it was warmly received in tampa at the rnc. mr. ambassador, thank you, john bolton for being here on suspected morning. good to have you with us. >> martha: there are thousands of politicians and delegates and cowrnlists, descending on charlotte. the democratic national convention getting underway. why does the party choose north

carolina over other battleground states? interesting answers to that, live from charlotte, as the newsroom moves on.

>> the democratic national convention is a pretty big deal for america. >> people who are speaking here, the messages they are delivering could truly shape our country -- over the course of the next four years. >> you will see satellite trucks lined up and down the block, miles and miles of cable, all to bring you the story -- lights, camera, action. >> coordinators, reporters and producers have been wishing on this months and months. we have been trying to get the answers to the questions that viewers want.

>> i think fox news is the best news organization in the world and team fox will be there, with muscles flexing. >> it's the super bowl. we have been covering politics nonstop and this is the culmination of years of work, not just for the campaigns, but for all newspeople. >> we are trying to get behind the scenes to show you something that you don't see other places. we have been working hard to prepare. we are ready. >> it all comes down to this -- the economy, job, the deficit, health care. these are the key issues that are going to be on the table. >> democrats will have the stage for almost an entire week. now we will see. >> up close, on the scene, we are following this race, step by step. >> this starts the final 100-yard dash to election day. >> this really is the new beginning. you finish the dnc, it's straight to the base -- 1, 2, 3 and then a race all the way to

november. >> we have everything covered, from politicians and the pundits to being in every polling station and covering every single debate. you won't miss anything. >> the next step starts live in north carolina at the democratic national convention. don't miss a second. ng much lat. but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. why every room deservesell us what to look great.olor is? and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision.

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>> bill: that's an american classic, burt bachrach, singing "raindrops keep falling on my head," and the writer died in los angeles. he is remembered for his prolific collection of music. hits like "walk on by" and "do

you know the way to san jose?" hal david, dead at the age of 91. >> great song. so here we are, we raise the question about the choice of charlotte, north carolina, as the host for the dnc, in an election where states lying ohio or wisconsin is turning out to be a state that is in play may have been good choices. would a sea like that be better for democrats? one of the questions we want to bat around this morning. we are pleased to be joined by new jersey democratic senator, robert menendez. good to have you here. >> good to be with you. let's tick a look at north carolina, in the last election, president obama had a 100,000 vote margin in

charlotte-mecklenburg and thee had the slimmest margin of victory in the course of 2008. so some are now asking, was it a good choice to pick north carolina? and if so, why? >> i think it's a great choice. there are a lot of great choices that choices that the dnc had. they chose north carolina. this is a state that president obama won in 2008, the first time a democrat had won the state since 1976. and at the end of the day, i think that our message on building an economy from the middle class out, on the issues of economic opportunity, on health care security, on the opportunity for our seniors to continue to have medicare as they know it, that's going to sell in north carolina and across the country. and this is going to be the most interactive convention we have ever had, not only will it be streamed online, but there will be a maximum intersection from

people watching with the convention delegates themselves. so i think that messages itk take place from anywhere. >> martha: let's take a look at the clear politics average. these are the numbers we are seeing in all of the battlegroundstates. ohio as well. 46-52. cleveland was on the short list for this convention, you know, the president spending a lot of time in ohio. there is north carolina. 58, i'm sorry, 45-46. very tight. what do you think about the fact that this is so close and so within the margeib of error in all of these states? >> we have always thought this was going to be a close election. there are challenges before the country. the reality is, i think next week, as the president unfolds the vision of both what he inherited when he became president, an economy on the verge of a new depression and two wars in afscpaf iraq, a wall

street run wild and made risky bets that became the collective responsibility of everybody in america, millions of jobs lost before he took the oath of office, 7 passport 4% unemployment on the day he took -- >> martha: you know what a lot of folks will say when they hear that, is that he has had four years and he needs to run on those four years and whether or not the stimulus pmg and all of the efforts that he has put in have worked. >> when you stop the country from going into a deep depression and you create economic progress, a lot more to be done, unquestionably, a lot more that would have been done without the republicans constantly in opposition to every economic opportunity and initiative that the president has offered, when you pass historic health care that makes sure that americans go to sleep, not worried that they are one illness away from bankruptcy, when you bring our sons and

daughters back from iraq, i think there is a lot to good to talk about and a vision for the future. >> martha: what do you think about your senate colleagues, clair mccaskill, joe mansion who, have decided for their own election prospect, it is best for them not to be here. >> you know, if you are in a tough fight, you just want to focus your time back in the state. as good as the democratic convention can be, there is no substitute for being at home in your respective state, making the case to your voters. i respect both of their decisions, at the end of the day, we want them back in the united states senate. and they will be. >> martha: back to the issue of north carolina, specifically for just a moment, one of the things you hear about on the ground here is that the president's support for gay marriage has hurt him with some conservative, middle-of-the-road democrats here. what are your thoughts? >> i think this election will turn largely on the question of economic opportunity.

the country on a verge of depression to a country in growth. the challenges of the middle class and you give tax cuts to middle class families, versus to the wealthiest in our country. a country in which you don't reward companies for accepting jobs oversea, but you keep them here at home. there will be two clear visions in this election. >> martha: senator, pleasure to have you. i apologize, we have competing noise as they are getting the agenda together. big week, of course other for your party here. we appreciate your spending time with us. >> great. look forward to seeing you. >> bill: so the microphones work. >> martha: i think so? >> the other thing about the north carolina politic, the state party's been a mess for the past year that. went into the mix as they debated whether or not it was a good choice. >> martha: yeah. >> bill: we will see how it goes. if you are hitting the road for labor day weekend, you know that the pinch at pump is happening.

the cost to fill up spiking just in time for the labor day weekend. what's driving up prices? and more importantly, what's the political impact. >> martha: as the democratic national convention is preparing, you can hear that behind us. we will look at the most memorable moments of the past years. >> 1984 convention, walter mondale, no in the would have won because ronald reagan was simply that popular. when he decided to do was to nominate to a point, a woman as his vice-president. >> my name is geraldine ferraro.

>> martha: gas prices hit egg record high this weekend. analysts are blaming a refinery fire and shutdowns due hurrican isaac. price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose by 8 cents over the last week. nearly 20 cents higher than one year ago. >> regardless of your politics, there will be history made on tuesday night and wednesday night. throughout the time that the conventions have been held, it is always an historical moment to help define the parties and moments like these as we roll on

here in charlotte. veteran journalist, marvin kalb has a look at the defining moments that have shaped politics in america today. >> the convention of the committee democratic party will now be in order. >> reporting for duty. >> the conventions are an opportunity for the activist in each party to get together, to drum up a great deal of enthusiasm and then to go out and try to win an election. >> i accept the nomination of the democratic party. >> in the old days, it was very exciting. they would have two, three, four -- 10 ballots before they agreed on the nominee. >> i ask the american people -- >> the 64 convention was extremely interesting because a short time before, john f. kennedy had been killed. >> we do offer the people a choice. >> lyndon johnson was very well aware that to win he had to look

presidential. the 1984 convention, walter mondale -- no have won because ronald reagan was simply that popular. what he decided to do was to nominate, to appoint, a woman as his vice-president. >> my name is geraldine ferraro. it never happened before t. didn't work and he lost. >> we are the party that believes in the american dream. >> the 1988 democratic convention, bill clinton was selected by dukakis to deliver the major address. clinton went on and on and the delegates got restless, and there was a bist booing. >> in closing, something like, in closing... and then all the delegates seized that moment. stood up and cheered. a convention is part of the tapestry, the background of

democracy. >> bill: look for more history to be made this week. marvin kalb, reporting right there. >> martha: one of ann rom no's major goals in her speech at the rnc was to show the personal side of the man she met and grew to love. she sat down with us to reveal more about the republican presidential nominee. we will be covering the democratic national convention all week. we are here all week, folks, from charlotte. for up-to-the-moment coverage, we will be here, throughout the week. keep it here on fox. -[ taste buds ] donuts, donuts! -who are these guys? -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] donuts. how about we try this new kind

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